Rajiv Shah

Dr. Rajiv Shah led the efforts of nearly 10,000 staff in more than 70 countries around the world to advance USAID’s mission of ending extreme poverty and promoting resilient, democratic societies.

Under Dr. Shah’s leadership, USAID applied innovative technologies and engaged the private sector to solve the world’s most intractable development challenges. This new model of development brings together an increasingly diverse community—from large companies to local civil society groups to communities of faith—to deliver meaningful results.

Dr. Shah also managed the U.S. Government’s humanitarian response to catastrophic crises around the world, from the devastating 2010 Haiti earthquake to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

Through an extensive set of reforms called “USAID Forward,” Dr. Shah worked with the United States Congress to transform USAID into the world’s premier development Agency that prioritizes public-private partnerships, innovation, and meaningful results. He currently serves on the boards of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, as well as participates on the National Security Council.

Previously, Dr. Shah served as Undersecretary and Chief Scientist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he created the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, he spent eight years at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where he led efforts in global health, agriculture, and financial services, including the creation of the International Finance Facility for Immunization.

He is a graduate of the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and the Wharton School of Business. He regularly appears in the media and has delivered keynote addresses before the U.S. Military Academy, the National Prayer Breakfast, and diverse audiences across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Dr. Shah was awarded the Distinguished Service Award by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He has served as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader, been named to Fortune’s 40 Under 40, and has received multiple honorary degrees.

He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Shivam Mallick Shah and three children and has given up mountain climbing for family bicycle rides.

As you all know, wildlife trafficking is a logistics and transport-intensive activity. Traffickers of wildlife and wildlife products have discrete smuggling methods, networks, routes and markets. And evidence indicates that legitimate transportation and distribution supply chains are also being used to traffic illegal wildlife. For example, ivory is most often hidden in shipping containers, while rhino horn is usually trafficked by air passengers.

For generations, the United States has been a leader in providing development assistance to alleviate suffering in Kenya and across the globe. But food price spikes and resulting instability in 2007 and 2008 were a wake-up call: More needed to be done to break the vicious cycle of hunger and poverty.

And we are especially honored to have Ethiopia’s First Lady join us this morning to officially open the conference. She has been a very important advocate for strengthening the role of women in the professional world, and her presence today also shows Ethiopia’s support for this important initiative that addresses the role of women in agribusiness.

As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of normalized relations between the United States and Vietnam and look to the future, perhaps is there no greater opportunity to bring our two great nations together than on climate change and the environment. It is, therefore, truly an honor to speak on this topic so early in my tenure here in Vietnam and at such an important event.

Good morning all, and welcome to USAID’s second Mobile Solutions for Development Forum. USAID’s Regional Development Mission for Asia (RDMA), along with our partner and event co-organizer, FHI360, is privileged to have close to 100 people here today, all with amazing backgrounds and experience - from the private sector, NGOs, and the academic community, to other donors, USAID staff, and implementing partners, from many countries in the region. I am sure your discussions will be rich and productive!

This inaugural Vietnam Policymakers Seminar Series is co-organized by the USAID Governance for Inclusive Growth Program (GIG) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Academy of Policy Development (MPI/APD). The series of seminars has been developed to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and best practices on policy analysis and a networking forum for mid-level Vietnamese government officials.

Today’s ceremony demonstrates the U.S. Government’s ongoing commitment to help bring peace and stability in Mindanao. Graduates, we have no doubt that you will shape a more stable and prosperous future for the Philippines.

I am very pleased to be here with you all today to launch Inform Asia, a health research program that will be implemented by our partners RTI International and the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre. We know that learning and knowledge-sharing are powerful accelerators of successful development, and in that way this activity will play an important role in helping us to achieve better health policy - and better health conditions - for the people of the region.

In my years as Mission Director of USAID in the Philippines, I have been a frequent visitor of Bohol, in work-related and personal capacities. I thoroughly enjoyed all those visits, not only because of Bohol’s unique attractions, but more importantly, the friendship and warm hospitality that the Boholanos offer. I’m sure I am not alone in feeling this way. I look forward to exploring your exhibit as I will surely discover new places that will persuade me to come back again. I may take advantage of the travel discounts myself.